Impossible Promise
by Mew Draiku
Summary: [Oneshot, YMxM] Malik is giving Yami, Yugi, Ryou, and Bakura a tour of Egypt. Guess who he bumps into...


Mew: Kyarr! Another Marik x Malik one! -evil grin-

Draiku: Oh no, you all know what this means...

Mew: FEAR MY ONSLAUGHT OF MARIK X MALIK FICS!

Draiku: -hides-

Mew: This one's pretty short, but I kinda liked it. -smile- Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Malik, Yugi, Yami, Ryou, and Bakura were walking through Egypt one day, all on vacation from trying to save (or conquer) the world. Bakura yawned as Malik pointed out the three pyramids of Giza.

"…So anyway, the largest one, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, is the last surviving seven wonders of the world," Malik said. Bakura looked bored, but Yami looked quite interested.

"Which one am I buried in?" Yami asked. Everyone but him sweatdropped.

"None of them," Malik said. "I can show you your tomb later, if you like." Yami sighed, seemingly disappointed.

"You'd think that my subjects would build me a great tomb like those," he mumbled to himself.

"Your death was sudden. They didn't know what else to do with you, and it takes _years_ to build those. By the time they were done building it, you'd be a skeleton!" Malik explained.

"Can we move on?" Bakura said. "I've already been to all these places. I managed to take tons of treasure from ol' Khufu over there. Oh, and Yami, the traps in your father's tomb were pathetic. I mean, it was _so_ simple getting in it was as if your father had withered and died like a flower in a glass of water." Yami's eye twitched.

"Don't you _dare_ insult my father!" he yelled. Yugi and Ryou sighed.

"He was a weakling, in mind, body, and soul. He had the intelligence of that rock over there, and he was as weak as this twig on the ground, and his soul was like the sand; it left him piece by piece as the wind blew harder and harder," Bakura said with a grin. He absolutely _loved_ insulting Yami.

"Shut up, tomb-robber!" Yami roared. Bakura decided to finish it off with one last insult.

"And you know what they say, 'like father, like son.'"

That did it.

Yami leapt at Bakura and scrambled as if he wanted to choke him to death. Bakura grabbed Yami's hair and pulled him so Yami's arms flailed at nothing, rather than his neck.

"Bakura, let go of him!" Ryou and Yugi both yelled. Malik sweatdropped and tried to ignore them and the stares of the tourists around them. Ryou tried to pull Bakura away, while Yugi tried to pull Yami away. The two rivals kept fighting, throwing punches and insults at each other.

"You're such an idiot! Just like your father!" Bakura yelled at Yami.

"Well at least my family wasn't a family of thieves and criminals!" Yami countered.

"We're proud to be thieves! At least we weren't sitting on our lazy asses all day, telling people what to do!" Bakura growled.

"At least my family and friends aren't made of golden trinkets!" Yami snarled. Bakura gasped.

"You've just sealed your fate, 'great pharaoh,'" Bakura said in a low, dangerous voice. He then forced his body forwards and broke free of Ryou's grasp. "I'll kill you!" he roared. Before he could even reach Yami, they were suddenly somewhere else.

There was nothing around them, no people or buildings. They could see the three pyramids in the distance, along with the city surrounding them. Otherwise, they were in the middle of the desert. And it was suddenly dark. They heard someone cackling in the darkness and immediately looked to the deep, familiar voice.

A man stepped out of the darkness as if he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. His skin was tan and his hair was blond and spiked up. His eyes were a sinister, somewhat icy-blue color. In his hand he carried a fearsome golden item, the Millennium Rod.

"Marik!" everyone yelled. Malik was especially upset. He feared Marik more than he feared lying on his stomach, especially if he was being forced to lie face-down like his father had made him six years ago.

"Yes, it is I, Marik," the dark being said with a grin.

"You're supposed to be dead!" Yugi cried. Marik just chuckled that insane-yet-calm chuckle of his.

"Yes, even I thought I was dead," he murmured. "I was in the Shadow Realm, being slowly eaten alive by the shadows themselves, when I saw a hand reach out to me. I immediately grabbed it, and I was tugged out of the darkness. I never saw who saved me, but I have an idea who it was." He looked to Malik, and for a split section Malik thought that he saw gratitude shining in Marik's eyes.

"What do you want, Marik?" Yami demanded in a growl.

"Our last battle was only round one. This will be round two. But this time, something will change." The Millennium Rod glinted and they were immediately covered in shadows. Except this time, their ankles were chained to nothing. Yugi, Ryou, Bakura, and Malik had disappeared. Marik grinned wickedly.

"What are you planning?" Yami snarled. Marik just chuckled again.

"This time our vessels have nothing to do with this battle. There will be no Egyptian god cards, or magic and trap cards. Just monsters. We will have to sacrifice monsters to summon high-level monsters, of course. The monsters in our deck reflect our spirits and our vessels' strength. Each deck has one very high-level ritual effect monster and one magic card. The first player who summons that monster automatically wins, but otherwise it will be a simple game of duel monsters. Life point loss rules are normal, except if one plays a card in face-up attack position they can attack whenever they want, even on their first turn."

"And what happens to the loser?" Yami asked. Marik grinned widely.

"These chains are only here to keep us from running. The winner's Millennium Item will react to the shadows and gain the strength necessary to break the loser's arms and legs and slash their wrists. Don't you see, 'great pharaoh'? That's why I brought you here to the desert. You'll be stranded!" he said and laughed loudly. Yami simply smirked.

"Yugi and the others will help me," he said. But Marik just laughed again.

"If you lose, Yugi and the others will automatically be teleported back to the city as if nothing had happened. Do you think I honestly forgot about that brat? Fool," he growled. Yami gulped.

"Fine. I accept your challenge!" A duel disk appeared on Marik and Yami's left arms and a deck of cards appeared in the deck holders.

"The decks are automatically shuffled. Draw five cards!" Marik commanded as he drew five cards. Yami glared at him and did so. "You go first, 'great pharaoh.'"

"Fine! I play one card in face down defense position and end my turn!" Yami yelled. Marik smirked.

"I play Battle Ox in attack position! Attack the face-down card!" Battle Ox sprang forwards and sliced the card. Instantly, a Kuriboh was sliced in half and Yami's life points were left wide open for attack. Yami growled. "I end my turn," Marik finished. Yami drew a card and smirked slightly.

"I pass," he said. Marik blinked, confused, but then grinned.

"A bad mistake, fool," he said. "I play Granadora, then I play 'Dark Summoning!'" Marik yelled. Yami gasped. "I sacrifice Granadora and Battle Ox to summon…Inverse Winged Dragon of Ra!" A huge, black version of the Winged Dragon of Ra appeared on the field. Its eyes were red and dangerous-looking. Yami stared up at the monster with wide eyes. "Since Inverse Winged Dragon of Ra is a ritual monster, it cannot attack right now. But its effect allows me to summon one monster in attack position! It's your turn, pharaoh!"

"I play Steel Ogre Grotto number 1 in defense position and end my turn," Yami said.

"Then I shall pass. No matter what you do, you cannot defeat me now. I want to see you squirm a little before I kill you," Marik said.

"Then I draw. I play Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress number 1, then I play 'Light Summoning!'" Marik's eyes widened.

"Impossible!" he yelled.

"You shouldn't have passed, Marik," Yami said with a grin. "I sacrifice these two and summon Inverse Slifer!" A golden version of Slifer appeared on the field. Its eyes were jade-green. "Inverse Slifer! Attack the face up attack monster on Marik's side of the field!" Inverse Slifer destroyed the smaller monster next to Inverse Winged Dragon of Ra. Marik's life points went down dramatically, all the way to only one hundred. "Inverse Slifer has the ability to gain one thousand attack points for ever monster he destroys on your side of the field! Inverse Slifer, attack Inverse Winged Dragon of Ra and destroy that fiend!"

Inverse Slifer attacked. The Inverse Winged Dragon of Ra fought back, but it was no match for Inverse Slifer. Marik's life points ran out. He let out a roar of agony as the Millennium Puzzle flashed. His legs and one arm broke, and his wrists slashed. He collapsed on the ground and the shadows cleared.

"Yami!" Yugi and Ryou cried. Malik could only stare at his yami as he lied on the ground, teeth gritted as if he didn't want to scream out.

"Thank the gods you're alright!" Yugi said happily. Malik kept staring at Marik, disbelieving. Tears were streaming down Marik's face as he clenched his hand into a fist. Malik looked away. He didn't want to see Marik like this, even if he hated him.

"Let's get back to the motel," Ryou suggested. "It's getting late." Yami and the others nodded. Yami walked to Marik.

"You're a fool, Marik," he said. "You can never defeat me, so just stop trying. Good will always conquer evil, no matter what." Marik glared venomously at him.

"I will kill you some day, I swear to you," he snarled. Yami just stared at him without any emotion. He walked away, back towards the city. Yugi, Ryou, and Bakura followed him. Malik walked past Marik, trying not to look at him. He felt something grab his leg.

"Please," said a voice. Malik looked at Marik. "Please help me, hikari," Marik begged. Malik glared at him. He yanked his foot away and kicked Marik hard in the stomach, so hard that Marik flipped over, face-down.

"You think I'll help you!" Malik yelled as Marik cringed in pain in front of him. "After all you did to me! Why would even consider helping you! I'm glad you're going to die. The world would be better off without you." He briskly walked away, back into town.

Marik clenched his fist again and more tears fell.

_Don't you remember, hikari?_ he thought, wishing that Malik could hear him. _Don't you remember when we were friends, when you were younger? Don't you remember?_

-

Malik lied awake in his hotel room that night, staring out the window and at the desert. Marik was somewhere out there, probably already dead because of the scavenging vultures. There were poisonous snakes out there, scorpions as well. And Marik's wrists were cut. He had probably bled to death.

Yet one thought kept coming to his mind.

_Did you have to kick him?_

_He had already been in enough pain, yet you went and kicked him like that. You could've said no without hurting him. You could've let him die facing the stars rather than the ground._

Malik shook his head, trying to knock some sense into himself. He turned over on his side and tried to get some sleep.

Meanwhile, Marik sighed softly. He barely noticed the pain in his legs and arm now. He just wanted to close his eyes and fall into a deep, silent sleep right now, but he hadn't bled enough yet. The cuts in his wrists weren't deep at all, they were almost like scratches, and they had already scabbed over. Now he'd have to wait until he was poisoned or starved to death.

_So this is how I die,_ he thought to himself. _Exactly like how I was born. I was born lying on my stomach, and I shall die like this._ He sighed sadly. _Malik…I'm so sorry. I thought…I thought that if I killed the pharaoh for you and made you ruler, you'd love me. But I was wrong. That only made you hate me. Maybe if I'd tried something else, taken it another way…maybe it would have worked out._

He closed his eyes and waited for his death patiently.

-

Malik found himself running into the desert.

"Marik!" he cried, over and over again, looking for him frantically. He had just waken up from a dream about his life as a child. In his dream, he had been talking to Marik calmly, making crude jokes about the pharaoh, mostly.

"Malik…" the child Marik said softly, blushing slightly. "I…I love you. Do you love me?" Malik's child self blinked, contemplating the words.

"Only if you can help me kill the pharaoh and help me rule the world," Malik said, sounding immature. Marik blinked.

"So…if I kill the pharaoh for you and make you ruler of the world, you'll love me?" he asked. Malik nodded.

"I promise," he said, smiling.

"Then I swear to you, I will kill the pharaoh for you. And soon the world will be bowing to you, Malik! I promise you," Marik said, grinning.

Malik snapped back to reality and realized that it had been all his fault that Marik tried to kill the pharaoh and rule the world. If he had never said that, Marik would have never gotten into this mess.

Malik found Marik, lying face-down in the sand, his eyes closed peacefully.

_This is my fault,_ Malik thought, horrified with himself. He fell to his knees and sobbed in front of Marik's body. _If I hadn't said that, he never would have died like this. If I had just said that I loved him too, none of this would have ever happened. Now he's dead, and it's all my fault._

"…Malik?" said a raspy, weak voice. Malik gasped and looked around. He looked to Marik's body and saw that Marik's eyes were open. He was alive! "What are you doing here?" Marik asked, trying to sound rough.

"Y-you're alive," was all he could say. He immediately pulled Marik's torso into a tight hug, but Marik let out a short cry of pain. Malik immediately let go of him and rested Marik's head in his lap. Marik took in sharp breaths, coughing weakly. Malik stroked his face gently, trying to ease his coughs. Marik stopped coughing and gazed up at Malik.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked softly. He couldn't deny that when Malik stroked his face it felt nice, but he wondered why he was doing it.

"I'm so s-sorry," Malik whispered. "This is all my fault, isn't it? I told you, five years ago, that if you killed Yami and made me ruler of the world I'd love you, right?" Marik gasped.

"I thought you forgot all that," he mumbled.

"I only remembered tonight. It's my fault that your legs and arms are broken. It's my fault that you're out here like this," Malik muttered.

"Malik…hikari…don't blame yourself," Marik said softly as one of Malik's tears fell onto his face. "And please…don't cry. I hate it when you cry like this." Malik nodded and tried to stop crying, but he couldn't. Marik reached up with his good arm and wiped Malik's tears away.

"I…I want to tell you something that I should have told you five years ago. Marik…I love you too. And I'm sorry for making you think that you had to kill the pharaoh just for me to love you," Malik said, gazing into Marik's eyes. Marik's eyes widened and he smiled, then grinned.

"You mean that?" he asked softly. Malik smiled back and nodded. "Gods…I've wanted to hear that for so long…" Malik leaned over and gently kissed Marik's lips. Marik's eyes widened, then they half-closed in happiness as he gazed at Malik's smooth, soft-looking neck. He closed his eyes and kissed Malik back lovingly. They pulled away and gazed at each other again.

"I'm…I'm going to call for an ambulance now," Malik said. Marik nodded.

"Okay," he mumbled. "Thank you."

"And Marik…do you forgive me for what I did to you?" Malik asked. Marik nodded again, smiling.

"Why would I stay mad at you?" he asked. Malik smiled back.

"Thank you," he said softly. He took out his cell phone and called the hospital. A few minutes later, an ambulance drove over and Marik was taken on a stretcher. Malik got into the ambulance and held Marik's hand tightly as they drove back to the city.

Marik's broken limbs were immediately put in casts. He rested in the hospital room, waiting until the doctor said that it was okay for him to go.

Malik walked into the room and sat in the chair next to Marik's bed. Marik smiled gratefully and Malik kissed him gently.

"I've been wondering something," Malik said. "Who do you think saved you from the Shadow Realm?" Marik chuckled slightly.

"I…I think that it was you," he said softly. "I remember holding your hand from when we were kids, and the hand I grabbed felt like yours." Malik gasped.

"A few days ago…I dreamt that I saw a hand sticking out of my shadow. I pulled on it and someone came out of my shadow. I think…I think that it was you," he said. Marik smiled.

"Thank you for that," he said. "You saved my life twice." Malik gently hugged Marik, who hugged him back with his good arm. "I love you so much, Malik," Marik whispered into Malik's ear.

"I love you too, Marik. Just never make me worry about you again, please," Malik said softly.

"I won't. I promise," Marik said softly. Malik smiled and kissed Marik again, who kissed him back. "Just love me forever."

"I will, Marik. I promise."

End

Mew: I suck at endings. -blank stare-

Draiku: Yes you do.

Mew: -sighs and wanders off-

Draiku and Yoko: -stares after her-

Draiku: She's cracked.

Yoko: Meanie. Please R&R, everyone!


End file.
